Volunteering opportunities
Expat Club is a unique organization. We are the only expat group in the world that offers a wide selection of local events and trips to hundreds of destinations, either for a day, a weekend or even longer. But it all starts with people like yourself who make up a diverse and vibrant community of special people from 80+ countries. Mingling with friendly people is probably the best aspect of joining our events and trips. Always in a safe and respectful environment. Always well organized and with interesting programs.
But the truth is that after many years of building the community, running countless events and going on numerous trips up with a small team, we have reached the limit of what we can do. Welcoming more participants for the events and trips is not a problem (we can always find a larger room or hire a larger bus), but putting more events and trips on the calendar becomes increasingly more challenging. And that’s where you may come in! We would namely love to start offering even more for our expat community and we need help from people like you!
For our local events we are looking for volunteers who want to become part of our team. Whether you are young or old, work for the European institutions or are a freelancer, whether you are a newbie expat or have been living here for decades, if you have an open-minded international attitude and love to bring people together, then you are invited to join the bandwagon. Expat Club is especially looking for people who would like to help us putting together the following events on a regular basis:
- Coffee mornings – Nice gatherings on Saturday mornings at a fixed coffee bar welcoming a diverse mix of people (very young to the young at heart) for a hot drink, a croissant and a chat. It’s the best place to meet new people in a relaxed way. We also would love to restart our Monday morning coffees, which attract a mix of trailing spouses, students, au-pairs, entrepreneurs and freelancers and people who sneaked out of their office for a quick coffee and chat..
- Socialisers – The typical bar events to meet new friends while having a beer or wine. The venues may change from a nice traditional bar to a hotel bar or a lounge bar, or even a night club. Of course a rooftop bar or garden is the best location for the warmer summer evenings.
- Walks & hikes – Discover that various neighborhoods, parks, outskirts and forests in and around Brussels with a group of active people. The length and intensity may vary but should be clearly communicated in advance so everyone knows what to expect.
- Lunches, brunches & dinners – The best events always involve food one way or another. So we are going to organise many more food events, including lunches and brunches in the best places in Brussels, including luxury hotels, as well as lovely dinners in authentic restaurants, and in particular foreign kitchens. Brunches are always on Sunday, lunches can also be on Saturday, possibly in combination with another event like a museum visit, and dinners are usually on Monday-Thursday.
- Movie nights – Sunday night is the best evening to go to the movies. We virtually always choose one of the two UGC theaters, either at Toison d’Or or Place Brouckère. Afterwards we go for a drink in a nearby bar. In case of a big release (e.g. a new James Bond or Star Wars), we may also go to the premier night on Wednesday.
- Art gallery visits – Brussels has a ton of galleries with a wide range of art. For the art aficionados it would be great to explore them, for instance on a Saturday afternoon. Will you contact the galleries and guider members around?
- Guided museum tours – With over 100 museums in and around Brussels, there is always a new one to explore. And what better way to do that then with a friendly group of like-minded culture and art lovers. Expat Club usually arranges professional guides to show us around, but we also need a host to welcome everyone and keep the group together. Is that you?
- Lectures & workshops – In the past we hosted a wide variety of expert workshops in our office meeting rooms, from financial planning to mindfulness. If you are interested in a wide variety of subjects and want to organise or host such events, let us know!
- Charity events – As an international social community, Expat Club is also an active member of the wider Brussels community to which we would like to contribute in various ways. In the past we collected money for various charities on an ad-hoc basis, but we would like to make this an integral part of who we are.
- Concerts & (live) music – Do you love music, either in a formal setting of a concert hall or in an informal setting of a band playing in a bar here in Brussels? Why not take some other expats along to enjoy the evening together to share your passion?
- Brussels newcomers workshop – Do you remember that first time you arrived in Brussels? You must have had so many questions! But now that you’re living here for some years, you have so many answers. How great it would be to share them maybe once per 1-2 months with newcomers to Brussels?
- Dance events – Do you like to move your body on the dance floor. Surely you are not the only one.
- Book & Poetry Club – What is better than devouring page after page of a good book? Maybe you agree the answer is an actual local Book Club for expats to read and discuss one or more books on a regular basis. Will you be Expat Club’s book worm and bring people together? Of course reading and talking about poetry is equally interesting.
- Language Café – Brussels expats probably command the world’s highest average of spoken languages. And the best way for you to learn them is to actively speak them regularly with others who are already fluent or who would like to learn as well. These events are not going to be another socializer (read: party) under the cover of speaking a certain language. We actually sit down for a serious discussion. Ben you die organiser these Veranstaltungen pour Expat Club?
- Comedy Nights – The easiest way to have a good time is to laugh. And a comedy night is the easiest place to laugh. Expat Club works together with the Brussel English Comedy Brussels. We arrange the best seats in the house and meet before and after for a drink. If you can’t stop laughing already, you are likely the best host for this event.
- Sports & running – Some are rather lazy than tire. But if you are a sporty type and love to do different sports while getting to know new people, you are definitely the one we are looking for to host our sports events.
- Singles events – Expat Club is not and will never be an organisation purely for singles, just like we are not known for wild parties. However, many of our members (all ages) are single and we would therefore also like to put regular singles-only events on our calendar.
- … any ideas?
How does it work?
Let’s be clear, you will not become solely responsible for organising a specific event (e.g. the coffee morning). So you are not expected to show up every Saturday morning to host the Café Samedi or set up a minimum of two art gallery visits per month. Instead, you will become part of a small team responsible for a specific regular events. For instance, if you like socializing evenings in nice bars or (lounge) clubs, 3-4 people may rotate and still always organise 2 such evenings per month
What does Expat Club do?
Expat Club publishes new events on this website between all other events and trips. If it’s a regular event that never changes, like the coffee morning, we simply copy the event with a new date. If it concerns a movie night, we must of course have a bit more information, such as what movie, a movie synopsis and YouTube trailer, and the exact movie time, plus a link to the theater’s ticketing system. Expat Club also arranges registrations, payments (if applicable) and providing the event team with an updated participants list.
What do I have to do?
It depends… With a repeating standard event you simply show up on time, maybe prepare the room, put flyers and free expat books on the table and roll out a banner. Most important is of course to welcome all guests, but also mark all attendees and no-shows, register walk-ins, ensure everyone feels comfortable and are ready to mingle. Making introductions is therefore a key task of every host, especially if someone is coming for the first time. You also have to make sure the bar, theater or restaurant knows what to expect and what to do. It’s not rocket science, but hosting an event involves many different tasks you have to carry out in a short time. Naturally, we’ll walk you through it before you start and we do it together the first one or two times.
Is there any compensation?
Expat Club’s local events all fall under Expat Club VZW / ASBL, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing expats together in Brussels. For that reason we cannot provide a compensation beyond for instance a free coffee & croissant at the coffee event, a free movie ticket for the movie nights, and a free meal for the lunches and dinners. On top of that you of course earn eternal gratitude from our member community! In case the organisation and hosting involves much more than hosting and a little bit of organization, and if participants have to pay to join, then a compensation can be discussed. Expat Club volunteers will enjoy discounts on Expat Club trips (organised by Xross Global Group BV).
What else is expected from me?
There are a few simple rules that everyone must follow:
- You volunteer because you love to bring people together and share your passion for art, hiking, music or whatever event you are hosting. At the same time it’s great to meet more people yourself.
- You will become an ambassador for Expat Club and its members. You are aware of what we are all about, what type of people are coming, what events we organise and what people can expect when they join our events and trips.
- We trust that the Expat Club members can count on you. In other words, if you agree to organise or host an event you should be there. This is also respectful to other volunteers in your team.
- You are a volunteer because you like to do so, not to merely further your own business, and certainly not to solicit for religious, spiritual, financial, self-development, multi-level marketing, health and other such programs or events.
- Asking a participation fee outside of Expat Club is not allowed and asking or taking tips neither. If there is a self-paid contribution, e.g. an entrance ticket or drinks, it is not allowed to benefit financially by for instance getting a commission from the bar, restaurant or theater.
Sounds great, how can I sign up?
We’d love to hear from you if you want to become active in Expat Club as a volunteer. Please, send us a short introduction letter to members@expatclub.org, along with some information about yourself, your contact info and what you would like to do. You can also use the below form. We’ll contact you shortly to discuss the possibilities.
